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Here are our thoughts and recommendations on the what we think are the best business credit card available today. Given the credit crisis, we have also taken into account credit cards which you are more likely to be approved as well. But before we continue, we want to point out that there is a difference between so called "small business credit cards" and "corporate credit cards". Corporate credit cards are issued to companies who have significant revenues and employees. So called "small business credit cards" are issued to anyone with a business (even a new one). They can be individual as a sole proprietor. The main difference is that the cardholder is ultimately on the hook for any unpaid bills. Credit card issuers still check your "personal credit" before approving a card or in determining the spending limit. As a result, for all practical purposes it does not really matter whether you use a personal card or a so called "business credit card".
Due to the credit crisis, most credit card issuers have scaled back especially on business credit cards. Hence, we have included some personal credit cards as well because for all intents and purposes, they function just as well as regular business credit cards.
The following cards below represent what we think are the best cards available today depending on your needs.
Best For Cash Back and Extended Financing
The The Plum CardŽ from American Express OPEN is a unique credit card. If you pay your balance on time, you will earn cash rebates for every dollar that you spend on the card.Alternatively, if you make partial a payment, you will be extended a line of credit beyond the usual one month grace period (see the application page for full details). This is great for established businesses that need lines of credit. It provides a form of diversification from traditional working capital lines from banks. There is an annual fee but business owners will know that that is a cheap price to pay for a no-preset spending card with such features.
Best For Balance Transfer, Low Rate and Capital Start Up Financing
If you are looking for a card that offers a 0% introductory APR for purchases (perhaps to finance some equipment or start up cost), then you might want to consider the AT&T Universal Business Rewards Card because it offers a 0% APR for purchases for 6 months (yes, those 12 months deals are no longer around). It is also a reward card that is based on Citi's ThankYou program. You can earn 5 points for any AT&T services or purchases, 3 points for every dollar you spend on gasoline, business supplies and professional services. Even if you do not use AT&T as your provider, it is still a pretty decent card because of the reward program and the fact that there is no annual fee. You can also set limits for your employees.
Best Business Travel Card
For business owners who are frequent travelers on several airlines, the best card to get is the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card from American Express OPEN. The reason (as most frequent travelers know) is that they have the best frequent guest program. There are two features that really make the Starwood program stand out. Firstly, you can transfer points into air miles. Furthermore, you can use Starpoints to book flights directly with Starwood through their StarFlight program. The Starflight program allows you to use a fixed number of points for a ticket price within a certain range. This feature is no longer offered with any other credit card reward programs. Even if you do not stay at Starwood Hotels, it is worth getting this card for the airline tickets you can get. The annual fee is also so low compared to more expensive dedicated airline cards.
Best Business Card For Cash Back
The really good cash back business credit cards are getting rare. The first notable development that has happened recently is that every card has put a cap on how much gas rebates you can earn. That is because business owners who travel just keep charging their gas to their cards and credit card issuers just got burned. This is probably the cash back business credit card to get..
The TrueEarnings® Business Card from American Express and Costco allows you to earn rebates for gasoline purchases, restaurants and travel. With many cash back cards and gas credit cards cutting back on their rebates, this card will appeal to the business owner who travels a lot on car, entertains clients and does the occasional airline travel.
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